Aftermath
by Lawliet Holmes
Summary: The war is over, but Britain is in ruins. Harry Potter died when Voldemort killed him. Hermione Granger has lost everything, and spends her time drunk in the local pubs. But when she meets Draco Malfoy in the Leaky Cauldron, and he walks her home, things will never be the same again.
1. Chapter 1

The war was over, but Britain would never be the same again. Once Voldemort killed Harry Potter, who contrary to Dumbledore's theory _wasn't_ a Horcrux, most of the people at Hogwarts were massacred, and the rest forced to surrender. Voldemort had then started enslaving Muggles and Mudbloods. The Weaslys were executed as blood traitors, the Order of the Phoenix was eradicated and anybody coming into Britain was killed. Then, thanks to a Horcrux he made when he killed Dumbledore, Severus Snape returned. The ex-Potions Professor gathered the remaining enemies of Voldemort and led a strike against the Death Eaters. Lucius Malfoy destroyed his Horcrux, Snape and Voldemort both killed each other, and the American Ministry for Magic came in to help rebuild the torn country.

Most of Britain was a slum, and there seemed to be a dark cloud over the country. The cloud was darkest over the Leaky Cauldron, where Hermione Granger sat in a corner table, as she had done for the past few years, drowning her sorrows in Firewhiskey. And she had a lot of sorrows to drown; in the space of a week her two best friends had been personally executed by Lord Voldemort, the place she'd called her home for the last seven years was turned into a training ground for Death Eaters (until the Americans demolished it) and she'd been forced to live on the run because she was Muggle born.

When the war ended, she'd thought things would get better, but instead the country was plunged into recession, and Dark Wizards still kept cropping up everywhere. She had managed to save enough money to buy a small abandoned library, and she'd turned it into her house. She spent her days working at the Ministry, performing memory charms on all the Muggles who'd witnessed the war (which was almost all of them), her evenings getting drunk at the Leaky Cauldron and her nights reading. Not a very exiting existence, but better than she would have had if Voldemort had won.

Hermione was vaguely aware of a boy dressed in rags walking past her, but was surprised when he sat down.

"You're not… Are you Hermione Granger?"

Hermione looked up. The boy in front of her was wearing what looked like old, torn Hogwarts robes and a black scarf. His hair was messy and dirty, but looked like it had once been a brilliant blond. It hung long over his face, obscuring it from view.

"Uh… Yes. Who are you?" Hermione asked, and the boy chuckled slightly.

"Oh yes, the hair. You know, sometimes I forget… Imagine myself as I was before You-Know-Who and all."

He reached up and used grubby, scarred fingers to comb it backwards, and instantly Hermione recognised him.

"Draco? I thought all the Death Eaters were killed."

Draco Malfoy laughed.

"Nope. The Americans just locked us up and tried to work us to death. I'm on parole at the moment; still gotta build and repair stuff, but I'm paid a bit for it, and I'm allowed to spend the occasional night away."

Hermione frowned.

"You betrayed us, Malfoy. They should have killed you."

The boy looked genuinely ashamed.

"Hermione, look… I'm not proud of what I did, and God knows I've paid for it. But when he killed Harry… I tried to fight back, but then he put me under the Imperius curse, and I couldn't anymore. Look, I saw you and came over because you were at Hogwarts. Almost everybody else is dead. Please can we start again?"

Hermione downed the rest of her glass.

"We can if you buy the rest of the drinks."

Draco pulled several sickles and knuts from his pocket.

"I don't get paid much, but I have enough for a few drinks."

Draco got up and waited in the queue at the bar, while Hermione flopped back in her chair, thinking. By rights, she should kill him. He tried to kill Dumbledore, betrayed Hogwarts, and then left them to die. But that had been five years ago, and things had changed. Should she forget it and start again? God knew she needed to do something with her life. She decided to reserve judgement, for now. Maybe he _had _changed.

Draco came back holding two glasses of Firewhiskey, and Hermione smiled before taking one.

"Thanks Draco… Now, I think we should toast…"

Hermione stopped as she struggled to think, and Draco grinned, flicking his hair away from his face.

"To Harry Potter, for doing what I should have."

Hermione nodded and raised the glass.

"To Harry Potter."

They clinked glasses and downed the contents in one. Hermione went up and bought some more.

They toasted to Albus Dumbledore, New Starts, the Leaky Cauldron and Firewhiskey before Hermione fell asleep on the table.

Draco waited, smiling to himself.

He'd been trying for ages to find somebody, anybody, from the old days. And now he had, and while it wasn't ideal considering their history, it was good enough for him.

Hermione woke up to see Draco Malfoy sipping on a glass of water, smiling.

"Nice sleep?" he asked.

"That is the _last_ time I sleep on a table. My head feels like it's broken."

"That's called a Hangover. You were out for about six hours; it was all I could do to let the barmaid let us stay."

Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"You sat there for _six hours_ while I slept?"

He shrugged.

"It's not as if I have anything better to do."

Hermione stood up and fell into the isle. Draco got to his feet and helped her up, and she smiled.

"You do now; you can walk me home before I crash into something important."

Draco nodded. "Of course. Now look, can you walk?"

She laughed and gestured wildly with her hand, obviously still drunk out of her mind.

"I think… I answered that, didn't I?"  
"Ah, yes… Okay, if you put you arm over my shoulder… like that, yeah. And then lean on me… good. And then I'll walk you home. Where do you live?"

"You know… Library… Knockturn alley…"

Draco nodded and apparated. The appeared outside her front door, and Hermione opened it with an unlocking spell, and Draco carried her in.

He helped her into an armchair, and sat down opposite. They were silent for a while; Hermione trying to wake herself up and Draco trying to comb the muck from his hair using his fingers.

Hermione chuckled as she remembered something.

"Soberius", she said, and her head cleared instantly.

"That's better. Oh Draco, there's a comb in my room."

She took her wand out and waved it.

"Accio comb."

A small, plastic comb flew to her hand, and she handed it to Malfoy, who proceeded to attack his hair with such force she thought it would fall out.

"Draco, surely it would make more sense if you showered first."

"Don't… have a shower…" he muttered, still combing furiously. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"In _my_ shower you idiot. Up the stairs, first door on the left."

Draco got up.

"You sure?"

Hermione nodded.

"Of course I'm sure; I wouldn't have offered otherwise."

Draco got up and smiled.

"Thanks, Hermione. I… I didn't think you'd be so nice."

She shrugged. "I'm not being nice; I'm doing myself a favour. You stink."

Draco laughed.

"You're pretty vile yourself, y'know. I swear you knocked out a guy in the Cauldron when you passed him."

"It's cause of my stunning good looks."

Draco nodded slowly. "You keep telling yourself that. See you in a bit."

"See you, Malfoy."

"Hermione!" Draco shouted from upstairs.

"Yes? What?" she shouted back.

"Well… uh… I couldn't help noticing all the hair stuff you have up here… would you mind…"

Hermione laughed.

"Some things never change. Use whatever you want, Malfoy! I never use it…"

"Thanks Hermione!"

"Wait! Don't use the stuff labelled 'Madame LeRoux's'. That's for me only!"

"Sure…"

The sound of the old Muggle shower filled the house, and Hermione scanned the numerous shelves for a book to read.

She settled on _Muggles and How They Think_ by Barbara Codswallop and started reading, laughing at the nonsense the woman wrote.

Hermione was on page two-hundred-and-one when Draco appeared at the top of the stairs, wrapped in a towel.

"Uh, Hermione? Sorry to be a bother but… you don't have any clothes I can borrow, do you? Mine, as you said, stink."

Hermione got up and walked up the stairs, discreetly appraising Draco's torso. The Ministry had obviously been working him hard, because he looked pretty rock solid. She indicated one of the rooms and walked in, Draco close behind.

The room turned out to be Hermione's bedroom, and she walked straight over to the wardrobe and started rummaging around, leaving Draco to look around.

He was surprised by the amount of Muggle things there were; there was a faded poster of four weird-looking men with instruments, with the words 'Led Zeppelin' below it, several stationary pictures in frames, a dart board, and what appeared to be a rounder version of a Quaffle in one corner.

Hermione finished rummaging and came up with a pair of baggy looking black trousers with a stripe down each leg and a blue T-Shirt that said 'Just Do It' on the front.

"These are the only clothes I have which would fit you. They're… they _were_ my dad's."  
Draco nodded silently and took them.

"Where do I…"

Hermione laughed and walked out of the room.

"Just in here. But don't go rummaging."

She went downstairs, leaving Draco to get changed in her room.

"Hermione!"

"Yes?"

"You don't… uh…"

"What Draco?"

There was an awkward pause.

"Did your dad leave anything… you know… to go underneath?"

Hermione laughed; something she hadn't done properly in ages. She didn't stop for at least a minute.

"Hermione? It's not funny!"

She managed to stop laughing, and walked upstairs.

"Cover up, Draco; I'm coming in."

She walked in and rummaged some more in her wardrobe, and then started laughing.

"What?" Draco asked, not looking forwards to the answer.

He was right.

Hermione looked at him.

"For some strange reason I don't actually keep guy's underwear. I've got some… uh… girl's boxers in here. They're gonna be tight, but it's better than nothing."

Draco blushed bright red, and Hermione started laughing again.

"Are you… are you sure there's nothing else?"

"Draco, it's either those, panties or one of Ginny's thongs she left here."

Draco recoiled at the thought.

"I'll take the boxers if you don't mind."

She threw them over; pink and yellow boxers with the words _'Sexy Thing'_ across the back. Then she walked out as Draco groaned.

Hermione was on page three-hundred-and-twenty when Draco walked downstairs.

"Thanks, Hermione… I needed that shower."

She smiled.

"I know you did. I'll take your clothes down to the laundrettes later."

"No, you don't need to. Besides, I need to work anyway."

Hermione frowned.

"You don't get weekends off?"

Draco gestured to his now-bare wrist.

"I've got the Dark Mark. I _have_ no rights. I don't get weekends off."

"Well I work at the ministry; I can try and sort it out."

Draco laughed.

"No. Look, I appreciated it and everything, and I really appreciate how much you've helped me tonight, but all I need is to kip on your couch for an hour and then I need to get to work.

Hermione nodded.

"You sure?"

"Hermione, all I did was walk you back home. You don't need to do this for me."

She shook her head.

"I've been bored out of my mind for the last two years. I _need_ to do something different."

Draco nodded thoughtfully, and was silent for a minute.

"If you want to do something different, you can have dinner with me tomorrow. My cooking isn't brilliant, and my cell isn't a very good atmosphere, but still…"

Hermione shook her head.

"You can have it here. You cook, I'll mix drinks."

Draco smiled.

"Okay, Granger. You're on."

Hermione got up.

"Now, you get some sleep. There's a very nice couch in the corner, and there's fruit in the kitchen if you want it. I need to shower, and I'll meet you in the kitchen at seven for breakfast."

"Uh, I need to be at the building site at five."

Hermione frowned.

"That's early. Only in… bloody hell, that's in two hours. Alright then, get some sleep, I'll make breakfast while you sleep and I'll walk you down. We can eat on the way."

Draco shook his head.

"Why are you so keen to help me out?"

Hermione, for once, didn't know. She was quiet, and then shrugged.

"I don't know", she said quietly.

"Maybe because you're all I have left of Hogwarts. Maybe because you've been in prison for the last few years. Maybe because I need a change of routine. I have no idea; I just feel like I need too."

Draco walked over and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Well thank you. It's really helped", he said.

Hermione looked up at him and smiled. Then Draco went over to the couch and lay down.

"See you in an hour", he said, and instantly fell asleep.

Hermione went upstairs, turned the shower up to full heat, and lost herself in her own thoughts. The boiling water beat a rhythm on her skin, and her mind converted it to the drum-beat for 'Black Dog'. It had been her dad's favourite song, and she found herself singing it under her breath.

After ten minutes, she got out, dried herself, and got dressed in her work clothes. Then she went into the kitchen and cooked the only thing she could cook without it blowing up. Pancakes.

She sprinkled them with sugar, drenched them in lemon juice and rolled them up, before putting them into a bag for Malfoy's lunch.

_He may as well have something to eat on the job_, she thought to herself.

Draco Malfoy had long since developed the ability to wake himself up whenever he wanted to, and he woke up to the smell of something good. He got up and looked over into the kitchen, where Hermione has sitting at the table, waiting.

"We've got half an hour. That enough time?"

Draco nodded.

"I'm not really supposed to apparate, so I should probably walk. But yeah, half an hour is enough.

Hermione smiled and held out a bag.

"Well, we can eat breakfast on the way. And I made you lunch too."

Draco laughed.

"Hermione, why… You really didn't need too."

She shrugged.

"I was bored."

Draco walked over.

"What is it?"

Hermione pulled a Pancake from the bag.

"Pancakes", she said.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione was surprised when Draco walked to the Ministry of Magic, and was even more surprised when she saw the convicts scrambling up scaffolding.

"You're working on the Ministry?"

Draco nodded.

"Yeah. New job. The Minister wanted to hire professionals, but it was cheaper to get convicts to do it."

Hermione looked at the workers and started.

"Is that… Is that Dean Thomas?" she exclaimed, and Draco nodded.

"He got sent down for hitting a barman with the killing curse. I think he was framed, but what am I supposed to do? Anyway, thanks so much for the shower, and the sofa, and the…" he winced.

"And the clothes. And thanks for the pancakes."

Hermione held out another bag.

"For lunch", she said, and Draco laughed.

"You're like my mother… Or, what my mother would have been if father… anyway, thank you. I will see you at dinner tonight, then?"

Hermione nodded and hugged him.

"See you then", she said, and walked away, into the Ministry. She needed to talk to the person in charge of the Convicts, which just so happened to be one Blaise Zabini.

"Hey, Malfoy! You never told us you had a girlfriend. I didn't think girls liked the mark", called Marty Clagg, one of the convicts.

Draco laughed.

"She's not my girlfriend. I did her a favour, and she made me breakfast."

"A sexual favour?" Marty asked, and Dean Thomas laughed.

"Dude, that's Hermione Granger. No way is she sleeping with Malfoy. She's a frigid little know-it-all. Nice tits, but still frigid."

Draco was in no mood for the normal day-to-day banter, and started on mixing the mortar; part of the Convict Work Scheme was that everything had to be done by hand.

"Hermione Granger? I didn't think I'd be seeing you around this part; you're up in Muggle Relations, aren't you?"

She nodded.

"I'm here to ask about negotiating the terms of service for a Convict."

Blaise nodded.

"Which convict?"

"Draco Malfoy."

Blaise laughed.

"I thought you hated him! He betrayed you, didn't he?"

Hermione gritted her teeth.

"Yes, he did. But he did me a favour, and I wanted to see if I could help him out."

"Well what did you want to change?"  
"Well…"

Draco was exhausted; that had to be the hardest days work he'd ever done. But he'd done double what everybody else had done, and because of that, Zabini had given him the day off tomorrow. And so Draco staggered back to Hermione's house, in desperate need of a shower.

He knocked on the door, and Hermione opened it.

"Draco, how are you? Don't answer that; you'll only lie. You look absolutely done in."

Draco laughed.

"I worked… double shifts today so I could get tomorrow off. It's Sunday, and I figured I'd use it to help you."

Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"Help me with what?"

Draco gestured to her back porch, which was pretty much ruined with woodworm and mould.

"I noticed your back-porch is dying. I figured it was the least I could do to help tear it up and build it again."

Hermione smiled.

"Thanks Draco, but we'll talk more over dinner. You need to shower, and then you need to cook."

"Yes ma'am", he said, saluting sarcastically, and went upstairs.

Draco laughed as he got out of the shower; on the towel rack was a shirt, trousers, and male boxer shorts. He got dressed and walked downstairs, where Hermione was waiting, holding a frilly apron.

"No" said Draco. "There is no way I'm… I may be a convict, but I'm still a Malfoy. Malfoy's would never… oh alright then, but if this ends up in Witch Weekly I'm going to kill you."

He took the apron and put it on.

"So, what do you fancy?"

Hermione shrugged.

"I've got food in the cupboards and fridge. Surprise me."

Once Draco was well and truly busy with the cooking, Hermione went upstairs and lay on her bed. She'd spent most of the day sleeping, but was still really tired. But she was glad she's been able to do something for Draco; Blaise had been strangely nice. Maybe the war had changed everyone.

Hermione put on the dress she'd worn to the Yuletide ball with Victor Krum without knowing why. It wasn't as if she needed to dress up. But she hadn't in so long, she just felt like it.

Of course, the dress was considerably tighter now, and quite a bit shorter, but hopefully it wouldn't show too much.

In an hour, Draco had dinner on the table, and Hermione had finished mixing the drinks. So they sat down at the table with cocktails and food (Draco had made some form of pasta-bake with cheese) and started eating.

"So Draco, I talked to Blaise about the terms of your parole, and he says it's fine to change a bit as long as you keep working as hard as you are. So, if you wanted… well you could bunk with me for a few days every week."

Draco almost choked on his food.

"Hermione, why? Why are you doing all this? I've done _nothing_. I can't just move in with you…"

Hermione's smiled fell.

"I thought you'd be happy.

He sighed.

"I'm very happy that you asked, but I can't. I'd feel really… uncomfortable living off you all the time."

Hermione shook her head.

"Oh no, you wouldn't be living off me. You'd have to work for your keep. I just thought you'd like it more than your cell."

Draco thought for a moment, and then smiled.

"You do realise I only met you again yesterday?"

Hermione shrugged.

"I feel like I'm doing some good for a change. Is that wrong?"

Draco shook his head.

"When you put it like that, I'd love to."

Hermione smiled.

"It'd only be for four days every week. But you'd be able to bunk here, and he said he'd be willing to pay you a bit more if you work for an extra hour on one of the days when you're not at my house."

Draco smiled.

"That's brilliant. Thank you so much. I honestly… I still don't get why you're doing all this, but I thank you nonetheless."

Hermione looked at him for a while, and then smiled slightly.

"What?" Draco asked.

"Well I keep thinking how much you've changed. At Hogwarts you were this high-and-mighty pureblood brat. You made our lives hell. And yet now… now you're actually nice."

Draco shrugged.

"Two years hard labour does that to you."

They talked for at least two hours, about life in the cells, working in Muggle Relations, Psychology, and they even managed to end up talking about Photography. And then Hermione got up.

"Come on, I've got something to show you."

She led him upstairs, and down the hallway, into what had been a fairly large broom cupboard.

She'd managed to clear it out, haul a mattress in, and had even bought an old England Quidditch team poster and hung it on the wall.

Draco didn't speak for a long time.

"You… you actually made me a room? Nobody… bloody hell."

Hermione blushed slightly.

"It's not all _that_, surely?"

Draco hugged her.

"I can't believe this. It's not Malfoy Manor, but in one day you've managed to get be a home, get me in Blaise's good books, _and_ set up a bedroom for me. I don't know what to say."

Hermione kissed him, surprising herself more than anything.

"Then don't say anything."

Draco looked shell-shocked; he just stood there, not knowing what to do. Hermione blushed.

"Sorry… I didn't…"

"No, it's alright. I just… I…" Draco stuttered.

"What?"

Draco blushed harder than he'd done for a long time.

"I… I've never actually… I've never kissed… well, anyone really."

Hermione was genuinely shocked.

"The most popular, good looking boy in Slytherin, and you've never kissed anyone?"

"Well I was kind of busy with the whole 'evil bastard' thing at the time."

"Well, yeah, but… Never?"

Draco blushed even more.

"I just said that, didn't I?"

Hermione giggled slightly.

"Sorry, I… I wouldn't have done that if I'd known. It's not anything _important_, you know? Just a…"

Draco stopped her.

"Nothing is just anything. I always imagined my first kiss with somebody I loved. Now being honest, I don't love you, and you don't love me, but… I don't think I'm supposed to."

Hermione blushed even harder, and Draco smiled.

"Look, you've done so much for me. If you wanted to, then… well, it's the least I could do."

Hermione kissed him again, and giggled.

"I… bloody hell. I must have mixed those drinks stronger than I thought."

Draco hesitantly cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. Lingering for a second, he then pulled away.

"It's not how I imagined it… it's dryer, you know? But… if you wanted to…"

Hermione smiled, feeling slightly abashed.

"My room is less… you know… small."

She took his hand, and led him into her room. She kissed him lightly again, still just getting the feel of him, and he did the same. Then they looked at each other, mixed expressions on their faces.

Then Draco kissed her, and she opened her mouth on his, like she'd seen it done in the Muggle movies. It felt weird, but good at the same time, so she kept going.

She slipped her hands behind his head, like she'd seen Ron do with Lavender, and Draco placed his hands lightly on her waist, before removing them, unsure. "Go on", she said, breaking away for a second, and he replaced them as they kissed again. Soon Draco's mouth was moving as well, and Hermione's arms were locked around his neck. Then she sat down on the bed, taking Draco with her, and Draco reached up, taking the hairgrip from her hair, letting it tumble down her back. Hermione pulled away, suddenly nervous, and Draco did the same.

"Sorry… did I do something wrong? I… I've never done anything like this before. I…"

Hermione laughed despite everything.

"I think this is the first time anybody has heard Draco Malfoy babbling."

Draco stopped.

"Sorry. Was I wrong?"

Hermione shook her head.

"I just thought we should think this through a bit. I mean; we just met yesterday, and before that… well, we hated each other."

Draco nodded.

"Well, you've got a point. If you don't want to…"

Hermione looked down, and shook her head.

"No. No, I want to."

Draco nodded and awkwardly tried to get his hands back where they were.

Hermione laughed; this was _not_ the Draco Malfoy she remembered.

She took his hands and placed them on her waist, and then she slipped her arms around his back. They kissed again, this time with a bit more certainty. Draco felt Goosebumps prickle all down his spine, and on impulse he squeezed his hands slightly. Hermione made a funny little moaning sound, which Draco figured was a good thing. So he did it again, and Hermione moved her hands down, and…

_"Come on Draco, you little shit. Don't you run from me, boy! Get down…"_

_Draco feels a stinging slap know him onto the floor. His face hits the metal bed frame, and he tastes blood in his mouth._

_There's a sound of ripping, and Draco feels hot skin on his cold, bare back. And…_

"No!"

Draco pulled away violently and lashed out, screaming.

A higher voice screamed, and Draco was brought back to reality. The reality of Hermione on the floor, clutching at her nose. Blood was dripping off her hand onto the floor, and Draco ran to her.

"Oh god I'm sorry… I'm sorry I didn't mean to… I…"

Hermione scrambled away.

"What the hell? What is wrong with you? I thought you…"

Draco grabbed her hand and lifted her to her feet.

"I'm so sorry… I did, but I just…" he stepped away, voice dropping to a mumble.

"Just a… just a bad memory."

He felt something wet on his face, and with a start he realised that he was crying. He wiped the tears away and found himself fighting back sobs with hard, harsh breaths.

Hermione looked at him and saw all the years of being a convict etched onto his face. In that moment, he looked truly old. His messy hair was hanging in clumps down over his face, and his face was contorted as he finally gave way to the sobs. Hermione looked down at he dress, which was now splattered with blood, and she could have sworn her nose was broken. But she walked over and wrapped her arms around him, feeling him finally let go and sob openly into her shoulder.

"It's alright", she whispered.

"You're okay, Draco… You're okay…"

Draco stepped back, and Hermione resisted the urge to wipe the tears and snot from her shoulder. He looked pathetic now; snivelling, with snot and tears dribbling down his chin. Hermione grabbed a cloth from her desk and wiped his face, like you would a child.

Draco smiled sadly, choking back another sob.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't want to spoil anything."

She shook her head.

"It's alright; you don't have to apologize for anything. What happened?"

Draco sniffed.

"It was a long time ago, and I thought I was over it."

Hermione put her hand gently on his arm.

"Were you… were you raped?"

The boy recoiled fiercely, looking truly angry, and then stopped when he saw the look on Hermione's face. It wasn't mocking, like the last person who'd guessed. It was… It was as if she cared.

Draco nodded slightly.

"Oh Draco…"

Hermione hugged him tightly; the only thing could think to do. She'd never dealt with anything like this before.

"Do you… Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Okay… I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't your fault. It happened. I thought I was over it."

Hermione fell silent.

"If I'd known I wouldn't have… I wouldn't have done all that, you know?"

Draco smiled.

"No… I enjoyed it. Honestly… It's not as good as I imagined it as a kid, but it was enjoyable. It's just…"

"The flashbacks."

"Exactly. Look, I'm so sorry about your nose… and the dress, and the floor and everything. You've done so much for me, and I've just messed stuff up."

Hermione laughed.

"That's how the world works; men do stupid things and the women clean up afterwards."

"Yeah… I guess. Look, I can try again, if you want. I can…"

Hermione pulled away, smiling.

"I think that's enough snogging for one night. Besides, aren't you worried it'll happen again?"

Draco shook his head.

"I think I could handle it… but you're right. Look, thanks so much for everything you did today. I know I don't deserve it, but thanks all the same."

Hermione smiled.

"And thanks for cooking dinner; it was lovely. Better than the out-of-a-packet stuff I normally have."

"It wasn't all that. Some time I'll have to get some quality ingredients and make you Garlic Lamb. My mother taught me how to make that when I was small; it tastes amazing."

"I look forward to it. Now, you get some sleep, and we've get your stuff from your cell in tomorrow."

"Sure."

Hermione walked out, but Draco called after her.

"Hermione?"  
"Yes?"

"Thanks… Thanks for the kiss."

Hermione walked away, blushing furiously.


	3. Chapter 3

Draco lay in his bed, thinking about Hermione and why she was helping him. He guessed some part of it was just the joy of seeing somebody from Hogwarts; like he felt. But to invite him into her life… with their history? Draco must have completely underestimated the kindness of other people before then.

He thought back to the dinner, when she'd told him about what she'd done for him. He'd actually been angry for some reason. Probably because it felt like somebody meddling. But then he'd seen it for what it really was; a blessing.

Draco smiled as he thought of that first kiss. From what his friends had said, kissing was something brilliant, but Draco hadn't really seen the magic. But he appreciated the gesture behind it; it proved she actually cared.

Then he mentally cursed himself for that flashback; the way they had been before it had happened, who knew how far that kiss may have gone. He smiled guiltily as he imagined it; slowly slipping the dress from her shoulders, her smile as she peeled off his shirt, and then…

_Draco runs down the corridor, not daring to look around. He's never seen him like this before; angry, wild eyed and completely insane._

_"Come on Draco, you little shit. Don't you run from me, boy!"_

_Draco runs into the bedroom and starts to shut the door, but it flies open, hitting him. He staggers backwards as _he_ comes in._

_"Draco! Do what I say, boy! Don't run from me!"_

_Draco feels a stinging slap knock him onto the floor. His face hits the metal bed frame, and he tastes blood in his mouth._

_There's a sound of ripping, and Draco feels hot skin on his cold, bare back. And then there's the horrible knowledge of what's going to happen as the clothes are torn from him. He kicks and screams for somebody, but anybody nearby just shuts out the noise. He feels the tip of something against his entrance and tries desperately to get away. He hits the bed again, and his head is forced down, the duvet forming a gag of sorts. The thing against his hole again, and then pain; terrible pain. Draco forces his head up and screams…_

Hermione woke up to screaming from down the hall, and instantly knew that Draco was having another flashback. She got up, still in her underwear, and ran down the hall. When she got there, she found Draco knelt on the floor of his room, naked save for his boxer shorts, covered in sweat and panting like a dog. He was crying again. Hermione ran over.

"Draco! Draco calm down; I'm here. It's alright. It's just a dream."

Draco looked up from the floor, sobs and hiccupping already rocking him.

"I know… I know, I just cant… I can't do it."

Hermione had no idea what he meant, but she knelt down and put her arm around him.

"Yes you can. Yes you can. It's okay, just…"

Draco threw his arms around her, holding her tightly to him. He cried and cried, tears spilling down Hermione's back.

She became aware of how uncovered she was… they both were.

She resisted the urge that Ron Weasly had first awakened; the urge to run her hands over the sculpted muscle of his back; to feel the muscle give way under her fingertips. She resisted, knowing that doing so could result in another flashback. Then she felt Draco's fingers move slightly on her bare back, and knew that he'd just realised the same thing. But what would he do?

She suddenly felt nervous, not knowing what she wanted. Like anybody would be, she was slightly aroused to be in the arms of this amazingly good-looking man. But she was scared; she barely knew him and what he could do. Plus she knew he had problems with encounters like this due to his flashbacks. She had no idea of the severity of the flashbacks, or what exactly triggered them, but she really didn't feel like being punched again.

She felt his fingers gently shaking against her skin, as if he was torn by indecision. And then he pulled away.

"I'm sorry", he said, and walked out of the room, grabbing his clothes from the floor as he went.

Hermione stayed kneeling for a second, frozen, and then got up, running after him.

"Draco! Draco, wait! Where are you…"

"Away", he snapped.

"What? Draco, come back!"

She put on a burst of speed and grabbed his shoulder. He whirled around, face full of fury.

"Just let me go, Granger! Get off, you filthy little mud…"

Hermione grabbed both his arms.

"No! Draco, wait! What's wrong? What happened?"

Draco tried to shake her, and then stopped, his face a bland, emotionless mask.

"I can't stay here. I can't."

"Why? Why not? _I want you to stay_. I've pulled strings so you _can_ stay. So why don't you want to?"

Draco stepped backwards.

"You don't need to baby me; I can look after myself."

"Draco… You had no problem with it earlier. What happened?"

"I can't stay."

"Why not?"

"I just can't."

"But why?"

"_I'm not going to hurt you! I won't!"_ he shouted suddenly, forcing Hermione to recoil. She saw real pain behind his eyes, and saw tears welling up.

"I don't want you to be hurt!"

Hermione moved slowly closer, treating him like she would as wounded animal; careful, soothing.

"Draco, you wouldn't hurt me."

"You don't know that."

She slowly reached out a hand.

"Why? Why would you hurt me?"

And the fight went out of him.

"I… I don't want you hurt like I was…" he said resignedly.

Hermione touched his arm.

"Draco, you wouldn't. You're not that person."

He shook slightly at her touch.

"I… I wanted to… I wanted…"

Hermione smiled sadly.

"Draco, it's really your dad's job to give you _the talk_, but it's all natural. You're a boy. It's going to happen."

Draco looked up at her, and she laughed slightly.

"Hell, even _I_ was thinking about it."

"But… but I was…"

Hermione stepped back, looking at him.

"Draco, you had your arms around a half naked girl. You're going to get aroused, and I'm not trying to flatter myself or anything."

Draco nodded his understanding, blushing.

"It's… are you sure? I'm not, you know…"

She took his hand.

"Draco, just because your secondary brain took over for a second doesn't make you a rapist."

Draco was confused.

"Secondary brain?"

"Your dick, Malfoy."

Draco laughed, blushing even redder.

"I'm sorry… you know, for the shouting and the tantrum. I'm not normally like that."

She smiled, leading him back to his room.

"I know you're not; it's just the flashbacks, right?"

Draco nodded.

"Yeah."

Hermione thought for a second before proceeding carefully.

"Draco, sometimes talking to somebody really does help. A burden shared is a burden halved."

Draco smiled.

"You sound like somebody off one of those Muggle children's programs. I don't want to talk about it."

Hermione nodded, and then threw caution to the wind.

"Draco, what happened then… If we're going to take this further, we need to stop these flashbacks. Acceptance is the first step to getting over it."

Draco looked at her, a new light in his eyes.

"You mean… you mean you want to…"

Hermione sighed.

"Draco, you're a good looking guy who's just magically appeared in my life when I most needed a change. Of _course_ I'm interested to see where this goes. But you _need_ to deal with those flashbacks."

Draco nodded slowly.

"Well… I guess an early night doesn't matter as I'm not working tomorrow. Do you want to sit down?"

Hermione nodded, and sat down on the bed. Then she laughed as she caught Draco staring at her breasts.

"Actually, I think I'd better get some clothes on."

Draco nodded, embarrassed.

"Of course, of course… uh, I should…"

Hermione got up and walked back into her room. She pulled on a dressing gown, tucked her wand into the pocket, and sighed heavily.

She'd gone further than she'd wanted to, but she _needed_ to help Draco, and if he needed a little motivation to get him to open up, then she was cool with that.

She went back into Draco's room to find him just pulling on a shirt.

She sat down on the bed, and gestured for him to start.

He paused, thinking for a minute, and then,

"I was eleven… it was just before I got the Hogwarts letter. My father went out to see somebody, and came back… different. He started shouting; screaming abuse at my mother. She started crying, and I screamed at him to stop. Then he noticed me, and started chasing me, trying to hit me. I ran, but he chased me into my room and… and he…"

Hermione touched his cheek.

"He raped you?"

Draco nodded, and Hermione hugged him.

"That's… oh my god, Draco. I thought it would have been somebody at school. Is that why you never, you know, kissed anybody?"

He nodded again, and Hermione thought.

"Draco, I've read books on psychology and stuff like that, and I think we need to find you an older man to get to know. Somebody who you can look up to. We need somebody to replace your father in your mind."

Draco snorted.

"All the good men are dead. How are we going to find one of those?"

She frowned.

"I'm still working on that. But at least we've got a plan. "

"Yeah… Yeah, I guess."

They were silent for a minute; Hermione thinking of a plan, and Draco marvelling at the transparency of her silk dressing gown. Then Hermione looked up.

"Hagrid". She said, and Draco raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Hagrid. We need a good, honourable man to replace your father. If anybody was like a father to me at Hogwarts, it was Hagrid."

"No. No, no, no, no, no. He hates me, and he scares me. He's… he's a half breed, for fuck's sake."

Hermione scowled.

"Draco! Don't say stuff like that, or you may as well call me a Mudblood and be done with it. Hagrid's perfect, and I believe he'll forgive you for anything you did to him."

Draco shook his head.

"That bloody Hippogriff, remember?"

"The Hippogriff that escaped. No harm done, so you're fine. Come on Draco; I promise you it will help."

Draco was silent.

"You're sure it will help?"

"I hope so."

"And if I get better, we…"

She sighed.

"I can't promise that, but probably, yes."

Draco nodded.

"Then I'll do it."

Hermione smiled.

"That's great. I'll send an owl for him tomorrow. Are you okay now, or do you need me to stay with you a while."

"Well… if you were alright with staying…"

She laughed.

"Okay Draco, but no funny business."

The Malfoy smiled.

"I can't promise that, but probably."

"That's the Draco I remember. Now come on, get some sleep. I'll stay here in case you need me."

"Thanks, Hermione."

"Any time, Draco."


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione spent the first hour just sitting on the end of Draco's bed, listening. While he was awake, they didn't speak; Hermione knew that Draco needed sleep. Everything seemed better after a night's sleep. Eventually his breathing slowed, and she knew that he'd fallen asleep. She got up and started slowly pacing the room, smiling occasionally. She felt like she was useful again; like she was doing good for once. She hadn't felt that since Horcrux hunting with Harry and… she couldn't even think his name; every time she tried, that one memory came back. Ron standing there, face expressionless as one by one his family was dragged before one of the Death Eaters and killed. And then Ron, as he walked forwards and got on is knees. The flash of green light.

But it had happened, and there was nothing she could have done about it.

Instead she concentrated on the task at hand; Draco. She would send for Hagrid and hope he agreed to help. She also considered getting some Muggle anti-depressants from the local hospital, and taking him out somewhere where they could have fun. Take his mind off his father…

She shuddered; it pained her to think of what it must have felt for Draco to be used like that by his own father. I mean, she'd always known that Lucius Malfoy was an evil, sadistic bastard, but to rape his own son? It made her feel sick.

Slowly Hermione made her way to Draco's bed and sat down near his head. She took his pulse from his neck – slow, even, and regular – and then gently touched his hair. Even at Hogwarts, Hermione had had a fascination with Draco's hair. Like everything else, she hid it carefully, but she'd always had this fantasy of running her hands through it. So she did. She started by gently stroking it, like she would a cat, and then buried her hands in it, slowly tousling it. It felt so soft; he had quite obviously been putting her hair-care products to good use. She heard a little moan from Draco, but it didn't sound like a moan of pain, so she kept going. Then, so her great surprise, a sound rather similar to a purr came from the boy. She almost burst out laughing, but figured that it would wake him up. Then he turned a little, and his eyes opened.

Hermione quickly pulled away, but Draco just groaned in that way typical of teenagers.

"No… no, it's nice…"

So she continued, more vigorously than last time, all the while thinking.

What would happen if she bent down and kissed him now? Would he kiss back? Would it be taking advantage?

In the end Draco decided for her; his hand reached up and touched her face, and then he sat up.

"I… What time is it?"

Hermione checked the clock.

"It's half three in the morning."

Draco smiled lazily, obviously still half asleep.

"That early? What you doing still in here?"

Hermione smiled.

"You asked me to stay with you. Remember?"

"Oh yeah. You know, you can go if you want to; get some sleep and that."

Hermione shook her head.

"I'm happy just sitting here, really. You go back to sleep."

"I don't want to sleep; I need to wake up."

"Draco, you've slept for less than an hour."

He tried to get up.

"No, really, I'm awake. I'm fine."

Hermione pushed him back down onto the bed.

"No; you're staying in bed until you get some proper sleep."

Draco laughed. "Getting dominant, eh Hermione? Can't wait to get me back into bed, can you?"

"You wish", she said, smiling; maybe this meant he was getting better.

Draco laughed.

"What of it? You told me you wanted to as well."

"I'm beginning to regret telling you that."

"Why? I would have found out eventually; I always do."

Hermione smiled patronisingly.

"Sure you do, Draco dear. Now you listen to mummy and get some sleep."

"Hey, if you're the mummy, can I be the daddy?"

"Uh… No way; I don't want my kids with hair like yours."

"Says the person practically raping said hair just a few minutes ago", Draco retorted.

"Be that as it may, you are not being the daddy."

Draco tried to get up again.

"Then I'll the mummy's bit on the side."

"Tempting, but still no. You need to get better; remember?"

"I feel better _now_, Hermione…" he whinged.

"No; you just feel horny. Now start thinking with your brain and not with your dick before you embarrass yourself anymore."

"At the moment, my dick is sounding more intelligent."

Hermione chuckled as she normally did before delivering a deadpan line.

"That was my opinion of you for all the time we were at school. Now get to bed."

"Don't I get a kiss goodnight?"

Hermione kissed him lightly.

"There, now get to…"

But she stopped, because Draco had slipped his hand behind her head and pulled her to him, kissing her. Hermione tried to pull away, but then mentally shrugged and kissed him back. Soon they were kissing furiously, with open mouths, moving hands and sexual moans to boot. Then Draco rocked forwards, and Hermione found herself lying on her back on the bed, Draco above her, looking into her face.

"Well this is cosy", he said, grinning, and kissed her again.

Hermione was lost now, hidden beneath the hormones and pleasure, and she ran her hands down his chest, sliding them up under the shirt. Then he stiffened, and all Hermione thought was _oh no, not again._

But then Draco just got up and pulled the shirt over his head. Then they were kissing again, and Hermione was running her hands over his sculpted back. Draco himself was content to just snog the other's face off as she groped his back. Then they eased off a bit, slowing down, and Draco moved his hands to Hermione's belly.

He undid the rope of her dressing gown, and looked questioningly into her eyes.

_"Go on"_ she mouthed, and Draco parted her robe, inhaling sharply.

Hermione sat up and slipped it off her shoulders, tossing it to the ground.

Hermione was nervous; this was as far as she had gotten with Ron, and even then they'd been playing truth or dare. This was voluntary, and she was now effectively at the mercy of a mentally damaged Draco Malfoy, who was probably hornier than he'd ever been in his life. She felt slightly uncomfortable as he just stared at her, and then he started kissing her neck. She arched her back; that felt so _good_. Why hadn't Ron ever done this? And then he stopped, pulling away.

"I'm sorry; I have no idea how to do this."

"You don't have to if you don't want to", she replied, feeling disappointed nonetheless.

Draco shook his head.

"I want to; I just want to find out how to do it properly first. Give me some time to find people to ask…"

Hermione laughed.

"No. This isn't something you just ask people about. I've got a better idea."

She got up, took his hand, and led him downstairs into the library. She opened up a trapdoor under a rug and rummaged about in the compartment underneath for a bit, and then came up with a box.

"I found these in the Weasly twins' room when I went through it. This, Draco Malfoy, is pornography."

"Meaning…"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Pornography is basically videos of people fucking… Not that I'm going to be fucking you anytime soon. But these…"

She rummaged in the box, hiding her blush, and came up with two DVDs.

"These are softcore; just snogging, making out, and the occasional fingering."

Draco raised an eyebrow.

"What's videos?"

"Oh my god… They're moving pictures."

"So why didn't you just say pictures?"

"Because porn is a Muggle invention, and Muggle pictures don't move."

"But these ones do?"

"That's because they are lots of pictures played very fast, so it looks like one moving picture."

"That makes no sense."

Hermione sighed.

"I don't care. I shall give you an old laptop of mine, and should you wish to, you can watch these. That should be enough to give you ideas."

Draco hesitantly took the DVDs, and Hermione laughed.

"Now go to your room and sleep, or wank, or whatever boys do when given porn DVDs."

"I wouldn't know. And what the hell does 'wank' mean?"

Hermione beat her head against the wall; it would seem that she would be spending the next few years of her life teaching Draco what he would have learnt in a few days at MuggleSchool. Or a few lessons in Muggle Studies.


End file.
